Episode 5: Summer surge hits Jackson South as COVID takes aim on the staff’s families
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Inside the COVID Unit: Battling the Coronavirus Pandemic in Miami
A five-part documentary series that documents what happened beyond the swinging doors of the COVID-19 unit at Jackson South, as Miami emerged as a national hot spot for infection.
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Episode 5: The Surge
As COVID cases rise and deaths climb, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis insists he isn’t worried because those infected are younger and experiencing fewer symptoms. Meanwhile, Andrew’s entire family falls sick with the virus. Julio’s family is also affected, and he makes the choice to care for his family, taking time off of work.
When the summer surge hits, the hospital is overwhelmed, and so are Andrew and Julio.
Dianne Washington watches her son’s burial on video because she can’t take the health risk of traveling to Detroit to attend it firsthand. Still, she is grateful for the “healthcare heroes” at Jackson South.
In Episode 5 of Inside the COVID Unit, the grim projections of pandemic deaths come true. The hospital’s morgue is overwhelmed. But vaccines are on the horizon, and at the Jackson South ICU, workers hang on to that hope as they continue to help COVID patients fight for their lives.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 4:34 PM.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow a Miami ICU’s war on COVID was caught on video
Inside the COVID Unit: Battling the Coronavirus Pandemic in Miami, a five-part Miami Herald/McClatchy documentary, tells the remarkable stories of front-line healthcare workers, their patients and their families in one small public hospital as the coronavirus pandemic hit Florida in 2020.
Granted extraordinary access at Jackson South Medical Center in Miami-Dade County, the Miami Herald and McClatchy documented the hopes and heartbreak of those deep inside the battle against a new and deadly disease. The series, filmed with the help of doctors and nurses working in the Jackson South COVID unit, shows viewers what went on past the swinging doors of the ICU in the months after COVID-19 forced hospitals to close to visitors. Read more about how Inside the COVID Unit was produced.
